Enhancing Market Growth with Innovative E-Mail Marketing

Greg Crandell
December 30, 2009 | COMMENTS

Cross-selling. On-boarding. Deepening relationships. Whatever name you give it, helping your members see the full value of your credit union—and getting them to use a variety of its products and services—are keys to successful e-marketing. It not only builds member loyalty, but also strengthens the bottom line.

Enhancing Member Growth

At NARFE Premier Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Virginia, membership growth was on a good pace. But marketing director Jessie Dederer wanted a better way to keep the credit union's name top of mind among its newest members, while encouraging them to use a variety of the services available. Because the credit union serves active and retired federal employees nationwide, traditional marketing tactics aren't as effective in reaching its geographically dispersed members.

“Our widespread field of membership gives us an advantage in offering some of the most convenient and value-added services available—especially when compared to other competing banks,” said Dederer. “We just needed to get that message out loud and clear.”

NARFE Premier Federal Credit Union has a strong member e-mail collection process, making it a good candidate for innovative e-mail marketing programs that target members with customized messages based on their individual profiles.

The online program Dederer selected synchronizes a credit union's data with a certified e-mail engine to automatically deliver personalized e-mails at timed intervals. The system also manages e-mail lists for bad and duplicate addresses and collects delivery and open-rate data.

As part of the credit union's on-boarding new member initiative launched in 2009, the credit union developed an e-mail series of seven messages, each highlighting one of its key benefits or services. To make the greatest impact, Dederer kept the messages simple, used similar design elements, and delivered them at a slow and steady pace.

Using the new program, the e-mails were automatically loaded with customized member information and then “drip-delivered” every two weeks over a three-month period. From March 31 through July 31, the e-mail series was sent to 282 new members. Tracking information yielded impressive open rates:

These open rates translated into results: Among the members receiving the e-mails, 52 added at least one new product or service as a result of the email campaign. The total number of deposit accounts grew 24 percent, with total deposit balances increasing $428,611. And the number of loan accounts grew 190 percent.

“From the first step, things were simple—from importing data from our MCIF software, to reviewing our e-mailing list, to creating a delivery schedule,” said Dederer. “This program was an efficient and effective solution that enhanced our overall marketing efforts. We anticipated good results and were very pleased when they exceeded our expectations."

Greg Crandell is executive vice president of sales and business development for DigitalMailer. Contact him at 866-994-4900 or gcrandell@digitalmailer.com.